When All Else Fails
by AvianatheReborn
Summary: Neopolitan has found Ruby Rose, the killer of her partner. This time, the redhead will not escape so easily. Neo assures it. This actually serves as my RWBY May MonCon. I wrote it in a haste one night and don't expect it to win but I felt like doing it because I had nothing better to do.
Ruby, Nora, Jaune and Ren walked through the forest on the way to Mistral as clouds formed overhead. Thunder boomed in the sky and Ruby put up her hood as a precaution for the coming rain. She understood that maybe starting a journey in the Winter wasn't the best of plans, but in her heart she knew this couldn't wait any longer. Dark things awaited her and her friends in the near future, and Cinder needed to pay for what she did to Pyrrha. Despite her resolve, her three partners started to slow down and it felt like they were calling it a night far earlier than they should be, so Ruby picked up the pace. No other communication was necessary; all four of them had something to prove on this and so they should be willing to push themselves.

Ruby slowed and stopped her pace when she noticed a shadowy figure up ahead. With each crack of lightning, it illuminated the shadow and Ruby deduced that this was a shorter, petite person with an interesting hat. Had she not known any better, she'd say Roman Torchwick was back to get her. That couldn't be true though; Roman was eaten by a Nevermore and then thrown into an exploding airship at Beacon so he was most certainly gone. His partner had flown away off of the ship via umbrella so Ruby wondered who this could possibly be, unless-

A large crack of lightning briefly illuminated the figure clad in pink and wielding an umbrella as her weapon of choice. Her outfit was covered in mud and her face in scars and bruises. Atop her head nested a hat that could only belong to one person. Ruby grabbed the small package attached to her waist and flourished it, the motion ending with her wielding her trusty Crescent Rose. Her three partners, noticing Ruby's actions, straightened their postures and brought their weapons out as well.

"Ruby, who's this?" Jaune asked, wielding his Crocea Mors. Ruby looked back at him, passion in her eyes.

"Neo," she said sternly, looking back at her old nemesis. "She's dangerous, so be careful." All three of them got into battle positions with Ruby doing the same shortly after. Neo hadn't shifted in her position and after a brief standstill, Ruby lunged, briefly activating her speed semblance and spinning the scythe around her body. On impact, Neo shattered like glass and Ruby halted her rotations, stunned at the occurrence. Taking advantage, Neo hooked her umbrella handle around Ruby's ankle and forced Ruby's head to come into brief but strong contact with Neo's boot, sending her sprawled out and falling into a tree.

This would be a time where Neo would smirk and go about toying with her food, but not this time. No, she meant business this time. The little redhead was not going to survive this chance encounter. However, she perked her ears when she remembered Ruby's friends. Having witnessed the move that nearly incapacitated Ruby, they all took up arms and rushed at her. Neo frowned. This was supposed to be a mission to kill the person who killed Roman but it was going to be a lot more difficult than that.

The one in white got to her first, but his form lacked discipline and his balance looked easily to manipulate. With ease she swung her umbrella and hooked his right leg up. In one fluid movement she spun her umbrella around her body, repositioning her hands on the handle and triggering the blade that would extend from the other end. Swinging it back around, it grazed his face and blood spurted out of the fresh wound. In one final blow, she withdrew the blade and took both hands on the body of the umbrella and, rotating once, slammed the point into his chest, sending him back from where he came.

The one in green was next, and he was by far faster than the previous opponent, quickly putting Neo on the defensive. She blocked multiple incoming blows from the dual pistol-blade hybrids with her umbrella before taking a quick side kick to the waist. Caught off guard, he quickly put her down with a powerful roundhouse to the back of her head, sending her to the floor. Not wasting any time and filling to the brim with rage, she jumped back to her feet, swinging her umbrella behind her and taking the fighter out with an attack from under his chin.

"Ren!" the third one exclaimed as she swung her mighty hammer in Neo's direction. Quickly she established that this wasn't something she wanted to take the force of so she needed a plan. Caught in the half a second of thinking, the hammer grazed her right arm but nevertheless left a devastating effect. Electricity coursed through Neo's veins and she was sent flying backwards into the dirt with Roman's bowler hat flying off of her head. When she picked her head up and saw the hat, Neo was hastily reminded of who and what she was fighting for.

Roman _would_ be avenged.

The orange-haired girl approached her and took a heavy swing that would have decimated her, had she not acted quickly. Using most of her remaining strength, Neo dove closer to her opponent and took hold of the handle of the hammer with her wounded arm. Using her good, albeit non-dominant hand, she took her umbrella by the body and jammed the handle right up the other girl's nose. Blood spurted out of the middle of her face as she fell backwards to the floor.

Although Neo was victorious she still had the task of ending the life of Ruby Rose, but that was easier said than done. The electricity was still pumping through her and every part of her body ached and burned inside. She took hold of the umbrella in her left hand and put all of her weight on it. She bent over and tried to vomit but nothing exit her system. She had never felt this vulnerable before. Still, she lifted her chin ever so slightly and glared at the still-unconscious redhead as she lay against the tree in the dirt. She frowned in a moment, taking in the situation. If it was this easy to beat her, she should have taken care of Ruby when she had the chance. Roman wouldn't need to be dead right now and together they would have ruled the world. Resolve strengthening once more, she did her best to rise to her feet to finish the job.

The walk to Ruby felt like an eternity. All of the time she spent with Roman flashed before her very eyes in each step she took, burning at her soul.

Roman and Neo ran down the back alleys of Mistral, dodging out the police at every turn. Neo was only a child back then, and Roman was but a teenager. He was no different back then; already wielding a cane as his weapon, his red hair covering one of his eyes always. Just as their escape dawned upon them, one of the officers, larger than the rest, cut off their path and picked up Neo in one arm. Roman, infuriated with these actions, jammed his cane down onto the officer's foot, causing him to howl in pain and release his grip on the girl.

"Neo, run!" he shouted before using his martial arts expertise to physically dismantle the officer before sprinting over to catch up with his partner. The two had been mischievous criminals for as long as she could remember, and this was the first time Roman had to step in and save her. It wouldn't be the last…

Roman and Neo were surrounded. Roman failed to cough up a cut of the pay to a rival gang on a heist both participated in. As it turned out, gangs didn't take kindly to being cheated. Roman, but a young adult, had mastered his craft and was as competent in the battlefield as he was sarcastic and persuasive. He shot out of his cane and flipped it over so he could use his handle to scatter the dust and inflict damage onto all of the opponents on his half of the circle, all of which were incapacitated by the shock as well as the actual dust. Neo wasn't having as much luck on her side, still a teenager and not sure how to use her umbrella to maximum effectiveness. She had successfully dispatched one but the rest only got angrier and fired away. She braced for the worst but it never came. As she would find out moments later, Roman stepped forward to take the blow. Filled with vengeance, Neo sprang into action and made quick work of the remaining enemies. She remembered hauling Roman up to a hotel room and tending to his bullet wounds for weeks before they could go out on another adventure.

Neo smiled as tears clouded her eyes. She remembered other, less significant events as well. The times Neo used her umbrella to shield Roman from the rain, or the birthdays held with stolen treats, or even the cold nights they spent huddled together when they couldn't find a place to stay. He was so protective of her, and she felt she could never repay the favor. The two were made for each other, and now he was gone. Neo had reached Ruby, who was still slumped against the tree, but she couldn't bring a look of anger into her eyes. No, this was sad and this was the end to the legacy that they had made. Her look instead was of steeled resolve, a feeling of passion she had never felt before. With another tear running down her cheek, she readied the blade on her umbrella for a lethal blow.

Neo gasped. The blade never entered the redhead's throat, but rather Neo felt a searing sensation in her chest. Looking down, she noticed a large grey blade protruding from where her heart should be. Looking back to the best of her ability, she noticed the familiar black hair and grey attire of an elite huntsman whose name escaped her at the moment. As the blade slid back out of her body, she collapsed to the floor, vision fading fast.

 _This is it,_ she thought, smiling all the same. _I'm coming home, Roman._

 _I'm coming home._


End file.
